Satisfying Blessings

Behar (Leviticus 25:1-26:2)

"The land will give its fruit and you will eat to satiation," (Lev. 26:5). One of the blessings the Torah promises us is an abundance of wealth. It is interesting that it is followed by a second blessing: that we will not only be blessed with wealth, but we will be satisfied with it.

Rashi points out that the real blessing is the ability to enjoy what we have and be satisfied with a little. Without the blessing of satisfaction, we may never realize how much we really have. We may be so driven to acquire and consume more and more, never achieving the peace of mind to enable us to stop and say thank you.

The Talmud teaches us to look to those who have less than us in order to cultivate a real appreciation for how lucky we truly are and to understand that everything we have is a gift. The biggest blessing in life isn't winning the lottery, but having the ability to enjoy what we have and be content and satisfied with the simple things in life. To the extent that we can appreciate and be content with what have, our connection to God will grow, as will our ability to see the beauty of the Divine everywhere. "Who is truly wealthy? Someone who finds joy in what he has."

Rabbi Ron Jawary was born in Melbourne, Australia and majored in economics and law at Melbourne University. He then studied Jewish law and philosophy at Aish Hatorah in Jerusalem and was ordained as a Rabbi in 1981. He began teaching Talmud and Jewish law at the Sephardic Study Center in Jerusalem, and spent the next number of years as a Rabbi at Aish Hatorah. In 1989, he became the Director and educator at Aish Hatorah Sydney. Moving to Los Angeles in 1991, Rabbi Jawary began teaching at YULA and Shalhevet high schools as well as the Executive Learning division of Aish LA. Presently, Rabbi Jawary enjoys educating and learning with the Executive Learning members, and giving classes to young professionals alike. Rabbi Jawary lives in LA with his wife Beth. They have 7 children and 5 grandchildren.